


Supermarket run

by Kathee_HDS



Series: Protect and court [1]
Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
Genre: Idiots in Love, M/M, Pre-Canon, Pre-Relationship, they're in denial
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 03:54:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29976969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kathee_HDS/pseuds/Kathee_HDS
Summary: A midnight supermarket run.
Relationships: Dr. Eggman | Dr. Robotnik/Agent Stone
Series: Protect and court [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2204919
Comments: 1
Kudos: 5





	Supermarket run

**Author's Note:**

> English's not my first language and this is my first fic on this fandom. Any and all mistakes are my own, no betas, we die like men.

Stone looked at the clock on his wall for the seventh time in as many minutes. Saturday. 21:57 PM. Cloudy.

His muesli bar family pack box was gone. He was out of milk, out of sugar and out of energy.

It had been a hellish week. His desk was overrun with folders, his holo-screens held over a hundred government tabs and his meeting had been put on hold for nearly an hour, while the governor went to have dinner with his family.

‘ _Maybe he’s choked to death_ ’ a smirk crossed his face. ‘ _Maybe he fell down the stairs and broke_ _ ~~his head~~_ _something_ ’. He briefly considered turning the spy cameras on to see what the hell was holding him up, but he didn’t care.

21:59.

He hadn’t seen the doctor since the 6pm latte. It wasn’t like him to not barge in in the middle of a meeting… ‘ _In fact_ ’ he rationalized, ‘ _It is to be expected that my meetings are cut short._ ’ He felt satisfied he’d found a loophole that allowed him to get away. ‘ _It won’t surprise the governor at all. He’d be more than shocked if I were to be still here when he came back._ ’ Having successfully talked himself into it, he hung up and stretched before heading to the Lab. 22:02.

The doctor was sitting on his desk beside a box of scraps, sorting them into two boxes. He didn’t even glance up when Stone kicked a discarded scrap towards him. _‘Weird’._

Making his way to him, Stone realized that the Doctor’s glasses weren’t enough to cover the bags under his eyes. His hair looked like it hadn’t seen a brush for days, and his coat still sported mud splatters from their off-site mission on Tuesday. This required an intervention.

“Doctor, we’re out of food.”

Silence.

Not a grunt of dismissal. Not even a groan, a “Shut up”, a scrap to his head. The Doctor kept classifying bits, his legs not quite dangling from the edge. ‘ _They’re so long_ ’ his unhelpful mind supplied, followed by a _'Get a grip, Stone'._

If he was going to get him to react, he needed to draw the big guns out.

“Doctor, if I may be excused, I need to head to the supermarket and get some supplies and snacks”.

At this, the doctor hopped down from the desk - _not hopped, he’s too tall for that-_ and pulled his glasses up, flattening his hair. He made his way to the garage and started the car, as Stone trotted to catch up with him.

The dashboard flicked to life. 22:07.

_'Well, that was fast!'_

  
  


The autopilot sped through the night as Robotnik hacked their way under the green lights. With a tired swipe the holoscreen went dark, and he found himself watching as his agent scrolled through mails and wrote an apology for leaving in the middle of a call without explanation. He turned to watch ~~his agent’s reflection~~ the street and broke the silence.

“Remind me to integrate the greenlight add-on in the next car update” At this, the agent finally looked up. “Yes, Doctor.” Robotnik felt Stone’s gaze on him, his lips curved in the half smile he always wore when he thought he didn’t notice; He’d thought of berating him the first times he’d caught him, but now he felt reassured by it. He’d even say he was pleased if he were honest, but he was never honest, specially not with himself.

  
  


The supermarket aisles were deserted and dingy, dust piling below the shelves and in every corner.

Agent Stone walked through them, inspecting the shop while keeping an eye on the Doctor, who was currently at the energy drinks corridor, a badnik close behind him pushing a cart. Making his way through the cans, he was muttering at his wrist scanner, comparing their composition to get the best ones. He was holding a pipeline punch can while Stone absentmindedly pondered which sandwich to get them for dinner.

For the past 72 hours the Doctor had been cloistered in the lab non-stop and, as far as Stone knew, he’d eaten nothing but granola bars and his twelve lattes. He’d tried to up the milk to coffee ratio but there was nothing he could add as a protein supplement without the Doctor finding out. Back at bootcamp he used to add flavoured protein powders to his breakfast shakes, but the chances of buying them online now were slim. All connections around the base were under badnik surveillance, his own personal devices moreso.

He’d barely made up his mind to grab a couple of sandwiches with loads of mayonnaise tuna when he heard a brawl by the back alley. With a quick glance around the shop, he found the doctor had moved on to the snacks rack and was currently scanning them too, to get the ones with the most chips in it. He approached and left the milk bottles and choco-muesli bars in the cart, tapping the bot’s dome before walking away.

He did a brief turn across the aisles, while the screams continued outside. Every inch on the walls was cluttered with shelves and fridges. There were no windows. Three cameras, none working. The only door was the one they’d come through, and there didn't even seem to be a backstore at all. The teen on the counter was engrossed in their phone, wearing earbuds and head bobbing as they watched something or other. Sufficiently satisfied, the agent stepped out while keeping watch on the door.

A quick once-over up the alley unveiled a couple of guys brawling; or, more precisely, a guy on the floor while another other viciously kicked him in the ribs. There was a garbage cart on the way to the parking, and several more on the other side of the door.

The guy on the floor wimpered as its abuser turned around, his fist flying towards Stone’s face.

With a swift motion he grabbed the assailant and twisted his arm. The one on the floor wormed his way out and stood up. Drawing out a knife, he smiled at the agent. He’d fallen for the ploy headfirst. _‘_ _Fuck’._

"Why, hello pretty boy." The one he’d ‘saved’ said, waving his knife. "Why don't you hand us over your wallet and in return we won't harm that pretty face... Too badly?" The goon he had trapped whipped a baton at his head, and as he dodged he wrestled himself free.

"Hand over the wallet, clock, phone and anything else of value! We don't have all day!" The baton whipped at him again, keeping him at bay while his partner moved to stand beside him. “And no touching, you perv”.

Stone pulled his gun from its holster as he stepped back towards the door, pointing between the eyes of the one with the baton before either could even blink.

"Leave now or what little brains you have will splatter the wall behind you", he growled.

By all answer, the one holding the knife, who was apparently the boss in that small charade, whistled three times. Two more men appeared from behind the shop's garbage cans, effectively cutting his way to the car. Their crowbars shone under the street lights, mocking him.

"Looks like we've got a feisty one, guys! Disarm him!"

“That’s a big word for you idiots to be using. Did you learn it today?” Stone held his aim and slowly cocked the gun, not sure if he’d be able to take them all out without getting hit, but willing to try.

They were about to leap at him when Robotnik sauntered through the door.

"Stone, playtime’s over. Finish here and come in, only your dinner's left." His tone was bored, bordering annoyance. The bot hovered by his side, a plastic bag on each handle.

 _Something_ rose in his chest at that, but he held steady. "I'll be there in a minute, Doctor", he answered, his eyes not leaving the closest target.

Stone waited for the telltale noise of the sliding door to open again, but it did not come.

A quick look showed him the cashier peeking from under the counter. The damned kid had probably locked the doors the moment Robotnik had stepped out. Gritting his teeth he calculated the chances of him missing a shot and it ricocheting back to hit either of them, and they surpassed what he was willing to risk.

" **Doctor** ” he said, before he could talk himself out of it. “ **Pin yourself to the wall.** "

The Doctor's mind went silent for a fraction of a second. He stood still, watching Stone's neck as if he'd grown another head.

Sensing no move behind him, Stone channeled him at his worst and barked "Do I need to repeat myself, Doctor?" to the midnight air.

He felt Robotnik’s elbow brush his back as he pushed himself to the wall, a perfect mirroring of his usual moves; a dance they had perfected through the years, now reversed.

The Agent couldn't contain a smirk at the irony, but he couldn't afford to bask in the situation either, not even to steal a glance. The four goons were standing in silence around them, blocking the way to their car. Openly staring, curious even, but not too worried. They felt confident they still had the odds in their favor, and were looking forward to harvesting two wallets instead of one.

He stepped back, his shoulder inches away from the Doctor's chest. He felt the ghost of ragged breath on his neck, and his head swam for a moment before he pulled himself together. Mourning the lost chance of hovering closely against the Doctor, he jumped forward and kicked the garbage cans towards the newcomers.

Their grunts and the unexpected clatter startled the other two into movement, but as they bolted -one to help the goons on the floor, the other towards the agent- a shot rung across the alley. _‘Curse wasted chances’_ Stone thought, as the boss' leg gave in and he fell to the ground with a sickening crack. He turned his gun to the remaining henchman, striding forward to press the still hot barrel against his throat.

Robotnik took that as his cue to head to march towards the car. Once he was by his side, Stone let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Never on his watch had the doctor been so close to danger. And it came from some idiots with a knife and half a braincell. ‘ _That’s what happens when you let your guard down’_ he berated himself.

The guy under his gun fainted, a sleep dart with red and black streaks stuck on his thigh. The badnik whirred by his side, nudging him towards the car. He walked out first, checking there were no more goons waiting for them.

Even after they’d hopped into the jeep and the Doctor started the autopilot to the lab, he kept pointing his gun towards the alley. Only after they were out of sight he let his shoulders drop slightly. Engaging the safety mechanism and wiping the barrel, the rush of adrenaline waned, leaving him shaky.

"Is there any other place we can stop so I can get my dinner?" He asked as nonchalantly as he could, sheathing his gun in his chest holster.

“No need.” Came the somewhat strained answer.

Robotnik wanted to tell him about the tuna-mayonnaise sandwiches in the bag. He wanted to gloat, as he’d planned when he’d grabbed them after the agent had left. But his agent’s order had dried his throat, his heart still thrumming against his ribs. The cold of the wall had seeped through his coat, but it had done nothing to silence the thousand of thoughts that had been running rampant since then. He grabbed a soda, even though he knew it wouldn’t quench his thirst. He twirled it between his fingers, the lights going from red to green as they made their way back. He didn't dare to watch his agent’s reflection, didn’t want to lose his composure, so he stayed silent, watching the bubbles swirl.

The dashboard mocked him. 23:39.

He was a professional, even if his feelings weren't.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this! I've got a couple more planned, i'm shaking they love eachother SO MUCH and are in super denial.


End file.
